I just wanted to say thanks to whoever bought me a free membership - that's very sweet! Also - who are you? I'm fervently curious. This is a mystery on the scale of ... Bigfoot and the Bermuda Triangle multiplied by an episode of Lost.

(actually, I don't suppose any of those things are actually that mysterious, but well you get the picture)

Its been ages since I posted anything new up here. I've been ridiculously busy lately, and I've got exams soon, so I'm probably not likely to get much more free time for a while. And I'm still annoyed that I have to work on Halloween and Bonfire Night, thus missing my chance to dress strangely and explode things for another year... Read More

I actually work in a warehouse, so the money isn't anyhting to be jelous of. But it's for a company I think is great, and we get to brew and drink beer on the clock, so it's sort of my dream job (for the time being)

I just got back from Kent, which was surprisingly fun (my friend goes to uni in Canterbury, so that was pretty much the only reason I went down there). We went to the White Cliffs, which was awesome because I never knew you could actually see France from Dover. I always pictured the English Channel between Kent and Calais as being fairly large, but it... Read More

Didn't want to turn that thread into an argument on civil liberty etc, we get enough of that with people screaming about the constitution

I don't know if you remember the News of the World's name and shame campaign, but I think it highlighted that a large number of Britons will descend into total paranoia and hysteria at the idea of Paedophilia, without any kind of evidence.
Like I said in the thread, think that's likely the reason the picture has been pulled.

You're right about sexual freedom being relative, and compared to, say, the arab states, we are pretty liberal. But as far as the western world goes, we're ahead of the US, and that's about it.

Just find it irritating that UK law presumes you to be guilty until proven innocent, when it comes to any kind of mixture of sex and violence, almost regardless of how mild.

I just got back from seeing my family, who I hadn't seen in ages, before I decided to do it twice in a month. Oh the randomness of it all. Most of them live in Athens, but I went down to teh Laconia with my sister to see my grandparents and cousins, which was fun. It was the longest hottest journey known to man... Read More

I had my mobile phone stolen today, and I'm feeling rather ticked off right now. It was either stolen or I just lost it in a really subtle way, but either way it's not in my bag anymore. Goshdamnit.
R.I.P for the best phone ever.

Despite my disagreeing rather vehemently with you on some things political, I have, over the months, developed a certain positivity of opinion about you. The fact that you're a Rammstein fan rather cements that.

So my next question would be - into any other German language bands? I'd imagine they're easier to pick up in Britain than they have been for me in the US. (Though I've been lucky enough to be able to travel to Germany a few times, and picked up some music that way. Wish I'd known where to find decent used music shops, if such things are even around, though. The weakness of the dollar vs. the Euro decidedly limited my haul.)

Well, I think German language music is...if not niche, then at least a relatively small portion of the industry even in Germany. I pretty much had to ask the people at the stores I went to about bands they might recommend if I liked Rammstein, along with the occasional "Oh, that looks neat" moment of my own. And I certainly didn't buy anything I hadn't had a chance to listen to before I bought it. (The major German chain, Muller, was surprisingly user-friendly in that respect.) So it doesn't really surprise me that you haven't had much luck in that regard.

I wound up developing a substantial appreciation for several bands, although I veered well away from Rammstein territory by the end.

Megaherz is probably the closest, although their lead singer doesn't have nearly as deep a voice. I think I like the first two albums of theirs I bought the best. "Kopfschuss", and "Himmelfahrt". Although there are some really excellent songs on the latest, "5", also. I'm particularly fond of "Gott Sein '04".

Eisbrecher is also somewhat similar - I forget what exactly happened, but at least one of Megaherz's members broke off and formed Eisbrecher. Their self-titled album isn't bad, but I'm much happier with their latest, "Antikorper".

Then there's OOMPH!, which has been around longer than most of these bands. It's more standard rock than metal, and especially early in their career they tended to have a lot of songs in English. So I'm not quite as fond of them, but their last couple of albums are great. "Wahrheit Oder Pflicht", and "GlaubeLiebeTod". You'll want to find the video for the first song on the former, "Augen Auf". Demonic children for the win.

And there's Stahlhammer, a Viennese band that's changed members at least once per album, so their style has tended to shift, especially when they switched vocalist. Albums 1, 4, 5, and 6 feature the guy who formed the band, and if album 5 ("Stahlmania") is anything to go by, he's very fond of really heavy, driving metal. The guy who replaced him for albums 2 and 3 seems to have been more rap-influenced, although it's still more metal than anything. I've only managed to lay my hands on 3 ("Feind Hort Mit"), and 5, so I can't comment on the others. I really like "Feind Hort Mit" a lot. Some very creative songs there. "Stahlmania" is great for rocking out to, but isn't as musically interesting. And I really, really want to find a copy of album 2, because it has them covering MC Hammer, something I have trouble imagining.

I can also recommend some other bands that are in a very different style, but this is already long enough.

My life is quite uneventful and work-centric right now, so I don't have much to blog about. If anyone wants to give me any suggestions for what to put here, feel free. Let me know if you would rather see me write about:

I'm pretty bummed out right now, I had to start my morning by running for an hour to get to an interview I ended up being late for. I had an interview for 9am (which is the first problem, why would anyone force someone to go to an interview early on a Saturday morning?). I was going to drive, but my car refused to... Read More

Yeah, the lack of focus on the field is what drew me to it. I'd like to study Central African history, with a modern focus--history of the Rwandan genocide and other morbidly fascinating whatnot. It's what I tend to focus on, meking Uganda (a moajor player on the leadup to genocide) a fun study.

Is there a connection between law and anthorpology for you--like a specific career in mind? Or are those just two things that equally draw your attention? And good for you for going honors. You are very brave.

I spent the afternoon lying in a field staring at the sky and listening to The Jam. Which was alot of fun, because it was strangely sunny (for Britain). People should go and lie in random fields more often. And, they should listen to The Jam more often. And if they feel like having extra super amounts of fun, they should listen to Bouncing Souls... Read More